A Butcher, Indeed
SKINNER, DAVID
A Butcher, Indeed Saddam's war crimes. BY DAVID SKINNER ANYONE STILL DOUBTING the criminal essence of Saddam's regime need only survey the methods employed so far by iraqi fighters to see that...
...Told to put down their weapons, "they ran back into the building and pushed the kids out the windows and doors...
...Asked to comment, former POW and Republican senator from Arizona John McCain says, "We are committed to the return of these prisoners...
...Feigning civilian or non-combatant status violates the Geneva Conventions, yet instances of this appear to be widespread...
...Already, there are too many reports of actions amounting to war crimes to keep track of, though certain categories of offense stand out...
...Plainly, Saddam's military not only tolerates unlawful and murderous tactics, but authorizes and embraces them...
...Whether Fedayeen, Baath party irregulars, or actual military, Iraqi fighters are disguising themselves not as shrubs (a perfectly legal ruse) but as innocent pedestrians, in Najaf, in Nasiriya, outside Baghdad, in umm Qasr, and elsewhere...
...Revolutionary Guard soldiers, too, have been found to don man-on-the-street costumes over their uniforms...
...After the 507th Ordnance Maintenance unit made a wrong turn near Nasiriya, several troops were taken into iraqi custody...
...The Washington Post of March 28 recounted an episode outside Nasiriya...
...And it bears noting that even, or rather especially, in wartime, no Iraqi is safe from torture and execution...
...Most heinously, ten Marines were killed in Nasiriya on Sunday, March 23, when a group of Iraqi fighters motioned to surrender, using a white flag, only to open fire in what one general described as the most heated firefight up to that point...
...BY DAVID SKINNER ANYONE STILL DOUBTING the criminal essence of Saddam's regime need only survey the methods employed so far by iraqi fighters to see that laws, humanitarian conventions, and elementary standards of decency hold no sway with the dictator or the men who carry out his will...
...Consider some of the stories reported in the first week of the war: a woman in Basra hanged for waving hello to Allied troops, an American officer told reporters...
...It would appear that agents of the Iraqi state view human beings as simply disposable...
...Then, there are stories that defy classification...
...We will pursue them, no matter what it takes, and [the Iraqi forces] will pay the ultimate penalty, if necessary, if they do not observe the Geneva Conventions for the treatment of prisoners of war...
...A Marine defending the supply lines saw some Iraqis appearing to surrender...
...Indeed, the exploitation of civilians may turn out to be Saddam's principal strategy and the key to his fighters' perseverance...
...To say that Saddam's forces do not put a premium on human life hardly does justice to the use of men, women, and children as shields, decoys, and crowds to hide among...
...But it is in regard to civilians that Iraq may be making its darkest contribution to military history...
...Twelve soldiers are missing in connection with these events...
...Iraqis in Basra firing at their own people, say the British troops fighting there...
...Perhaps first on the list is the treatment of prisoners of war...
...From such deception, it is a short step to the use of protected buildings and vehicles to shield fighters...
...The notorious battle in Nasiriya on March 23, during which Marines fought Iraqi troops firing from inside a hospital, not only demonstrated the willingness of Saddam's forces to flout the laws of war (a red crescent made the building a protected site), but also produced evidence suggesting their intention to use weapons of mass destruction: Along with a cache of weapons and a tank, some 3,000 chemical suits were discovered inside...
...They're saying he was killed in action," said a widow whose husband fell in that clash, "but for me it's really murder...
...The kids started running because they were scared and then the men ran out shooting...
...David Skinner is an assistant managing editor at THE WEEKLY STANDARD...
...If they are harmed or mistreated, we will go after them...
...The Geneva Conventions, to which iraq is a signatory, require the "humane treatment" of POWs, who must at all times be "protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity...
...The sadistic objectification of human life is the distinguishing mark of Saddam's military doctrine, as it is of his entire regime...
...Cities occupied by Iraqi forces remain legitimate targets, although the humanitarian provisions of the Geneva Convention require that potential civilian suffering be taken into account...
...Along with hiding among and behind civilians, Iraqi fighters are dressing as civilians—and not just the irregulars...
...Later that day, both iraqi state television and Al-Jazeera broadcast video of some of these soldiers being interrogated, along with footage of several corpses...
...While drawing fire into densely populated areas violates every kind of law, the Iraqis, especially in Basra and Baghdad, appear to be pinning their entire war plan on the coalition's scruples about inflicting civilian casualties...
...The fake surrender is another unlawful trick up the Iraqi sleeve, and instances have been reported almost everywhere there has been fighting...
...families in Najaf threatened with execution, according to General Vincent Brooks, unless the male family members (children included) joined the fight...
...In this regard, what happened to the Army maintenance unit captured on Sunday, March 23, constituted at least two separate war crimes...
Vol. 8 • April 2003 • No. 29
